The Retold Legend of Spyro: A New Dawn
by S.A.Wesley III
Summary: It is a dark time in the realm of Avalar. War wrecks the land and all hope seems lost. Only the purple dragon has the power to stop this spreading darkness and save the land. Now, a young dragon named Spyro, alongside his brother, Sparx, and his friends, Ember and Flame must rescue the inhabitants of Avalar from the Dark Armies and the Terror of the Skies, Cynder.
1. Prologue

_In the year of the dragon, in a world beyond the realms; I, like all the other guardians, had awaited the birth of a very special dragon. One whom the prophecies foretold would do great things. However, the Dark Master, had heard whispers of these prophecies and sought to prevent it._

_I should have hidden the eggs better. I should have hidden them long ago. But I was a fool; I thought we were ready for him. Oh, how wrong I was._

In the darkness of a hidden grotto, a red dragon stumbled through, frantic and desperate in his mission. He didn't have much time, he knew that and that's why he wasted no time traversing through the darkened room to its center. There, upon an extravagant golden pedestal that defied the darkness with its lustrous shine, lay a single egg. The egg that held the dragon which belonged to so many a story of wonder; it was the legendary purple dragon. The red dragon stared at the egg longingly, realizing the sacrifice he would have to make in order to ensure its safety, along with the rest of the world.

A violent rumble broke him of his trance; they would be here soon, too soon. A yellow dragon barged into the grotto, breathless and staring at the red dragon with panic "Save them, Ignitus! The dark armies are coming!" The yellow dragon said. That was all the incentive Ignitus needed to get out of their and bring the egg to safety. With a gallop, Ignitus left the grotto and took to the night sky, unbeknownst to the army that stood below him, raiding the temple in which he and others lived. He searched the swampy landscape for a safe place to land, finding rest at a river bed that flowed into a river that seemed to be pure silver. Ignitus landed and began to pant for breath, hoping for some idea to come to him. His frantic mind was slowly soothed by the calm and flowing waters, like the river was unaware of the battle only a short distance away. It seemed peaceful, innocent.

It was then Ignitus hatched a plan. Perhaps this river would grant a safe home for the egg. He had little choice and little time, so he decided to act upon it. He swiped the head of a mushroom that floated in the river and gingerly placed the egg in it. The mushroom then floated down the river, to safety, Ignitus hoped.

"May the ancestors look after you," Ignitus whispered, pained to see the egg floating away "May they look after us all," and with that, Ignitus was airborne once more, hurried to get back and help the others.

Stepping back into the grotto, Ignitus winced at the carnage before him; there laid his friends, the guardians, beaten and bruised as the armies vanished from the grotto but not before they smashed every last egg in the room. He saw them leave with another egg, one as black as night and tried to stop them but they were too quick, they were long gone. Ignitus stopped and continued to look around the grotto, hoping his mind was tricking him but alas, gaping holes were present in all the eggs, ruining an entire generation of dragons. Ignitus watched as his companions slowly rose from the ground, surveying the destruction as well. A pained expression of defeat etched onto their faces made the task of cleaning the grotto all the more saddening. Ignitus wasn't sure why, but he decided to survey the damage of each individual egg as he did he away with the remains. Each new hole in the eggs he discovered made the hole in his heart bigger. He knew he was responsible for this, he could've stopped it, he could've even lessened the damage even but here he stood, amongst dozens of destroyed eggs.

Amongst all of the dragons in the temple the cleanup was quick. In a matter of a night, the grotto was almost returned to its former glory. Ignitus was surveying the room for something he may have missed, quickly finding two eggs dropped on the floor and hiding behind the corner. Ignitus sighed and walked over to the two eggs. As he did, the morning sun began to raise, its first few rays shined down upon the eggs, making their shells twinkle in the light. Ignitus picked up the first egg; it was small compared to some of the others but it had a bright and powerful red hue. He examined the egg, his dull and depressing expression changing to one of curiosity and hope; the egg seemed untouched. He stared at the egg for a moment before reaching for the next one; it was a bright pink that somehow managed to put a smile onto his face. He quickly inspected the second egg and lo and behold, this egg had also survived. The shock from this revelation nearly made him drop the eggs but he quickly caught them and held them firmly in his grasp. He smiled warmly at the two eggs before quickly realizing he had to tell the others and that's just what he did.

_I was relieved to see some rays of hope shined through the dismal dark; as were the others. We didn't know exactly what had happened to protect these two but we thanked the ancestors above for them; the dragon race had hope to continue thanks to these eggs. The Dark Master was thankfully unaware of the two survivors and did not seek to finish the job. _

_In a short amount of time the two eggs hatched. The first to hatch was the red egg; the other dragons and I could tell from the beginning that the little one would be fiery but tough. He looked to me of all the dragon in the room first with those deep red eyes; there was something inside him that gave me a sense of familiarity, a fire burning deep in him that warmed my heart. I had named him Flame._

_The second to hatch was a peculiar one, from her first steps there was a pleasant smile always present on her face that could bring even the most grouchy dragon to smile, even for a moment. There was always something to smile about and happiness has many forms. It could be a powerful fire or even the slightest ember. I had named her Ember. For a while, I was happy but my mind wandered back to the purple egg constantly. Was it alright? Has it found safety? I knew I couldn't dwell on the questions for long though, there was still a war to fight._ _I merely hope that wherever the egg found refugee, it was safe._

Meanwhile, not too far away in a nearby swamp, the mushroom carrying the egg had rested on shore, near a village of peaceful dragonflies. They marveled at the egg, wondering what mysteries it held.

They didn't have to wonder for long…

* * *

**_The Retold Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning_**

**_by S. _**


	2. Chapter 1: Discovery

What emerged from the egg amazed the dragonfly residence, frightened them at first but still left them amazed. It was a purple dragon, whom they had raised as if they were one of their own. They named the purple dragon Spyro and he grew up alongside a dragonfly named Sparx, who was born on the same day. The two were very much like brothers, you could never separate them and they were always together.

Spyro accepted the world he was born into. He believed himself to be a dragonfly, a big, purple dragonfly mind you but a dragonfly nevertheless. His mind may have wandered to the question of his origin occasionally but in the end he figured this life was all he needed.

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred, ready or not here I come!" the purple dragon, Spyro, proclaimed as he opened his eyes to the brown toned swamp before him. He and his brother and friend, Sparx the dragonfly, were playing hide-and-seek. With the sun high in the sky, Spyro figured finding the yellow glow would be a snap, even if he was smaller. He looked around, surprised at how well a bright yellow glowing ball managed to remain hidden. But it wasn't long before Spyro found his brother, concealed behind the trunk of a dead tree.

"Ha! I found you my little glowing friend," Spyro smiled, creeping closer to the dragonfly. Sparx looked to Spyro with a laugh; he was slowly inching away from the tree, poised to fly away.

"Finding and catching are two totally different things purple boy," Sparx said, flying away from the tree and away from Spyro.

"Yeah you better run Sparx," Spyro laughed as he ran off after Sparx, leading to Sparx flying over a crevice. Spyro skidded to a halt as he saw Sparx taunt him from the other side.

"Aw what's the matter buddy you can't fly," Sparx flew closer to the edge, proceeding to belittle Spyro. Sparx neglected to notice Spyro adjusting his feet and spreading his wings. Spyro couldn't fly but with enough speed, he could glide over the gap.

"Oh wait; you walk everywhere, that's right. You have to use those stubby little legs like a big fat-"Sparx's taunting was put to rest as he saw Spyro launch himself off of the edge of the cliff and gliding through the air, landing mere inches in front of Sparx. A toothy grin fell upon Spyro's face as Sparx's expression turned to one of fear. With a weak laugh Sparx dashed away in a trail of light.

"You're toast when I catch you!" Spyro laughed as the two went farther into the swamp.

* * *

The sound of claws against the stone floor added some life to the quiet halls of the dragon temple. The movement was slow and trying its best to be quiet but with no other sound to compete with, the presence was certainly noticed. The dragon silently mumbled to itself about knowing how loud it was being and when a second set of claws to the stone emerged the dragon panicked and began moving faster. The pink body of the dragon dashed around the temple halls, throwing the notion of silence away in order to escape the pursuer. The worn, brown satchel across her body jingled and swayed as she darted through each corner of the old temple. The dragon looked back and grinned wildly, thinking she had escaped discovery. When she turned back around however another dragon sat in her way. A male with a body as red as a fire and horns and spines as yellow as the sun, a nice contrast to her dull yellow horns and light purple spines. She skidded to a halt, not wanting to crash into the dragon before her and ended up spinning forward before crashing down right in front of him.

"Heheh, er...hey, Flame," she said coyly, trying her best to appear innocent.

"Ember, you're not fooling me; I know where you've been," Flame said, a mix of anger and worry on his face. He extended his paw and Ember accepted it; with a heave Ember was standing and the two began walking "You're lucky it was me that found you and not Ignitus. You know what he said about the outside world, it's dangerous," Flame said, eyeing the satchel on her back and wondering what she grabbed on her most recent expedition.

"Flame, you say that every time I head out and look..." Ember stopped to point out the rest of her body; from her peach underbelly to her pink, heart shaped tail tip "I'm fine," the two rounded a corner and stepped into Ember's room, which was practically a bare room, the only distinct feature being a medium sized boulder jammed into the farthest corner of the room.

"I know, I know but Ember being the oldest of us..." He heard Ember groan, he knew he repeated himself a lot, especially this speech, but he was mad at her now "I need to take care of you and I can't do that if you spirit away to, whatever is out there!" Flame looked to Ember and was surprised to see her turn around.

"Who asked you to take care of me? You think just because I don't have an element like you or Ignitus makes me weak? So I can't breathe fire like you two; that doesn't mean I'm automatically unable to take care of myself!" Ember countered Flame. Flame's angered expression turned soft after hearing that.

"Ember, you know that's not true. I-"

"You know what Flame; can you just get out of my room? I don't need this right now," Ember turned away and undid her satchel, peering inside as she heard Flame sigh.

"Okay, Ember, I'm sorry," she heard Flame walk away and sighed. She had to admit, she did get a little emotional there and he was right, with no element, she was vulnerable to whatever was out there but she shook her head, she's gone out there to the swamps dozens of times and never ran into anything she couldn't handle. She looked outside the hallway to see Flame just turn the corner and leave; she ran back inside and moved the boulder, revealing a hole in the wall filled with various kinds of unique stones, sticks that reminded her of weapons littered around the temple and even ancient relics; she wasn't sure where they came from but she liked to think that they could get her out of this dismal temple.

Being kept inside the temple for all of her life made Ember yearn to see the world beyond the stone walls, so every now and again, she snuck out and explored the swamp surrounding the temple and if anything struck her liking she grabbed it and held on to it, keeping it hidden in the hole in the wall she dug out. Ignitus never seemed to notice or care; he was always distracted and lost in his thought. Ember knew Ignitus that he cared for her and Flame but he was away for most of the day, secluded to wherever he hid himself.

Ember sighed and shook her head; she didn't like thinking negatively of Flame and Ignitus, even if they irritated her sometimes. She walked slowly through her room to a small window, she looked through and sighed, a view of the outside world and she couldn't use it as a means of getting there, just seeing it. She could see the swamp easily but in the distance, she could see mountains, she dreamed of what lied beyond them.

"One day, I'll see what's out there," Ember smiled at the thought.

* * *

Spyro and Sparx continued to chase each other throughout the swamp. Spyro kept a bright smile on his face as he continued to pursue Sparx.

"Ah, poor Spyro must be tough to lose all of the t-…" Sparx, looking behind to insult Spyro, neglected to see a creature emerge from the swamp floor. A green weed like monster opened its mouth and Sparx flew straight inside "Alright, let me outta here you, overgrown fungus. Spyro lend a hand will ya?" Spyro snickered, stepping forward.

"I don't know, Sparx. Frogweeds have to eat too," Spyro spoke slyly.

"Hey c'mon Spyro, whack it or something! My wings are getting moldy!" Sparx began to speak with panic. Spyro chuckled before stepping forward and ramming into the frogweed with his horns, expelling his brother right away. Sparx slowly fluttered himself off of the ground and sniffed the air around him.

"Phew, boy do I smell bad, almost as bad as you," Spyro turned to Sparx with a surprised look on his face "And that's saying a lot!" Sparx laughed as he flew right past Spyro, who was still a little dazed.

"So much for a 'Thanks for saving me'," Spyro muttered with a sigh before giving chase to Sparx again.

* * *

Ember was surprised to hear a knock on her door, even more so to see Ignitus at the door. The old red dragon nodded with a warm smile on his face "Hello, Ember, may I come in?" he asked softly. Ember nodded and Ignitus stepped in and sat beside her "So, am I to understand that you've been sneaking out of the temple?" Ember gasped at Ignitus' statement and looked to the doorway to see Flame peering in slightly. He panicked and ducked away, making Ember growl and stand up but was stopped by Ignitus paw blocking her path "Ember, Flame did not tell me. I always had the suspicion," Ember followed Ignitus' line of sight to the rock in the corner and sighed in defeat "Flame, you need to come here as well," Flame slowly walked in and sat beside Ember as Ignitus sat across from them "Now, Ember, I know you are curious of the world beyond this temple but out there, a terrible war is happening. Countless lives have been lost and even my closest allies have vanished. I fear it will never be safe so long as it continues," Flame spoke to her and Flame.

"You said 'allies'…you fought in the war too?" Flame asked, surprised to Ignitus nod for a response.

"I fought alongside them for many years while you and Ember were mere hatchlings. But they quickly fell and were captured, and then I became their target. I still hide to this day from their forces," Ember and Flame could see the look in Ignitus' eyes; this was a tough subject for him to talk about "And Ember, you leaving this temple jeopardizes our safety, if you are discovered and tracked, they will find us and destroy us," Ignitus flinched as he saw their horrified expression "I know, it's a harsh truth for ones as young as you but I think it's time you two knew the gravity of the situation," Ignitus stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Ember and Flame alone.

"Whoa…I knew it was bad…but I didn't know it was that bad," Flame said looking to Ember who was shaking her head "Ember?" Flame asked.

"If we need to hide for the rest of our lives what's the point of even living?" Ember asked standing up and walking to the corner of her room and moving the rock out of place and grabbing her satchel.

"Ember, what are you doing?" Flame asked, worry evident in his voice as he stood up and walked to her.

"I'm leaving, Flame. I'm going somewhere that can still fight. I refuse to sit here for the rest of my life in fear. I want to live, not just survive," Ember said, fastening the harness around her body and storming out of her room. Flame was quick to follow her.

"Ember, you heard what Ignitus said…" Flame knew Ember wouldn't listen and deep down, he had a similar feeling too. He wanted to try and help this seemingly helpless cause in any way he could and sighed "Wait…" Ember stopped to turn around to Flame, who was looking behind to make sure Ignitus wasn't nearby "…I'm coming with you," Ember smiled and nodded.

"Alright, follow me. We'll take my secret way out," Ember escorted Flame to dead end in the temple. Flame looked around as Ember fiddled with a brick that seemed to move easily out of place, leading to an opening that both dragons could fit through. Ember and Flame looked to the temple one last time and then to each other. With a determined nod, they went through and left the temple.

* * *

Spyro was growing worried, this simple game of hide and seek had escalated into something far worse. It all started when Sparx flew too far away from their home, taunting Spyro into following him into unknown area. Spyro was the perfect mix of afraid and mad so when he found Sparx he would be sure to hug him and then strangle him. Then he spotted a golden glow hidden behind a leaf.

"Sparx!" Spyro yelled, giving chase to the dragonfly.

"Ha! I thought this would get boring but I-…Ah!" Sparx began before a quick moving shadow captured Sparx. Spyro jumped in surprise and sprinted after the shadow

"Sparx, hang on!" Spyro called.

"As if I have much of a choice, Spyro!" Sparx countered.

Spyro ran as fast as he could in order to keep up with his brother's kidnapper. He finally cornered them in a closed off area. It was then that Spyro caught a glimpse of the kidnappers; they were hairy beasts with long and extended muzzles. There were three of them and one held Sparx in a cage.

"Heh, and here I thought we had have to look hard for the last dragons and then you show up. Cynder's gonna love this!" one of the creatures chortled.

"Dragons?" Spyro mumbled to himself curiously.

"You miserable little demon, let me go!" Sparx demanded but the creatures ignored him and focused more on Spyro.

"Don't let him escape," was all he said and the other two monsters jumped at Spyro. With a flap of his wings, Spyro jumped back and dodged the two attacks. Spyro growled at the two and got ready to fight.

Not too far away, Flame and Ember had been trekking through the swamp, remaining quiet and reflecting on what they had done. Flame looked around the swamp, he had never left the temple so he was following Ember's intuition "So, uh…do you know where we're going?" Flame finally broke the silence. Ember paused before giving off a defeated sigh.

"No, I don't; but I figure if we keep looking around we may find something, someone who can help us," Ember said and continued walking. Flame was about to walk again when he heard struggling not too far away.

"Did you hear that?" Flame said turning his body to the sound and making Ember stop and turn back to him.

"No, I-"Ember began but was silenced by Flame who was intent on making her listen. They stood in silence before the sound was heard again.

"There are people fighting. You think they could be…?" Flame began before realizing that Ember had already run ahead to help fight "What-…Hey!" Flame jumped for Ember and whatever was going on.

Spyro wasn't much of fighter but he did his best to stave off his attackers. He jumped out of the way of their swipes and strikes and returned the offense with rams and scratches. Thankfully it was enough to subdue the two apes. Spyro was too distracted from making sure the two stayed down to notice another ape sneak up behind him. Spyro turned to his grunts and laughs but had no time to dodge his strike.

"Hey watch out!" Spyro and the ape were surprised to hear another voice join the fray. The ape snarled as a red creature pounced on top of him and saved Spyro. Spyro was shocked, not only by the surprise savior but from the fact that they looked so much alike. He turned around and saw another creature appear that looked like him but this one was pink. This one stopped to survey the scene before resting eyes on Spyro; she ran over to him and spoke.

"Are you okay?" the pink creature asked Spyro, making him nod slowly before realizing that they were still in a fight. Spyro tripped another ape coming towards the two and scratched to the face as he came toppling down beside them.

"Oh-ho, well lookie here, more dragons. Cynder's gonna love this!" the ape proclaimed as reinforcements arrived.

Spyro turned to the pink creature as she jumped out of the way of another attack with a yelp. He then turned to the red one, who jumped up as another ape attacked him. He then jumped at the new attacker with a blast of fire to boot. Spyro was in a state of shock as he absorbed what he was seeing. There were others like him. Spyro couldn't speak as he watched the other two creatures finish off the last of the attackers. When they finished the apes they regrouped to Spyro and stared down the final ape that still held Sparx.

"Let me out of here you…uh…ape-thing…!" Sparx stumbled over his words to find an appropriate description.

"Can it glow worm! I've had about enough of your mouth," the ape said placing Sparx down and preparing to smash him.

"Sparx! No!" Spyro yelled in anger and desperation, a fiery sensation tingled in his throat and in seconds, fire escaped from his mouth and torched the ape. The ape howled in pain and turned to the three.

"You haven't heard the last of us!" the ape snarled and leapt away from them.

"Whoa, Spyro, was that fire?" Sparx blurted rhetorically the instant the ape left "Holy smokes, you breathed fire!" Sparx continued to ramble as Spyro smashed Sparx's cage. Spyro and Sparx stared at the other two, who were merely watching the display.

"Uh, thanks for helping me get my brother back. It means a lot," Spyro said as they continued to stare.

"Sure thing, my name's Flame, by the way," the red creature stepped forward.

"And my name is Ember. I didn't think we'd meet someone like you so close to home. We want help fight in the war."

"Sparx is the name…wait…war?" Sparx turned to Spyro "Sorry you two, none of that is happening around here,"

"Yeah, what are you two talking about?" Spyro cocked his head as he expected an answer. He saw Flame and Ember turn to each other curiously before looking at Spyro.

"Well…don't you know? There's a war going on, we thought you were part of a resistance or something. You know, being a dragon and all," Ember shrugged, looking at Spyro's still confused expression.

"A dragon?" Spyro asked "I'm sorry I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a dragonfly, like my brother Sparx," Sparx waved to them.

"No, you're not," Flame added bluntly "Spyro, you look like us, you breathe fire like me. You're a dragon, how can you not see that?"

Spyro was beginning to get annoyed by the two, but mostly confused. He'd been a dragonfly all his life but now according to others, he wasn't? He wanted to believe they were lying but the more he thought about it the more he realized they may be right.

"Spyro?" Sparx patted his brother on the back when Spyro jumped and ran away.

"I'm sorry but…Sparx c'mon, we gotta go!" Spyro dashed as Sparx quickly joined him, leaving Flame and Ember all alone.

"Flame…do you…do you think we'll see him again?" Ember asked. Flame looked to where Spyro had run and sighed.

"I'd like to think so…but I don't know," Flame looked to Ember, the look on her face told him it wasn't answer she particularly liked "C'mon, maybe we should go back to the temple. It's getting late and I don't wanna know what else we could find out here," Ember wanted to object but she knew Flame was right, for now, she just wanted to rest safely in peace and with the rising of the moon she wanted to get home quick. With a nod, Flame and Ember dashed back to the temple.


End file.
